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Should Ubuntu Have Been Created?

"What many people don't understand about Linux
development is that it's truly a team effort:

" Red Hat develops the kernel,
Novell develops the applications,
Debian does the packaging,
and Ubuntu takes the credit!

"—Joke found on a bathroom stall at LinuxWorld Boston
2005

"The next chapter discusses challenges facing the free software
community, but Debian/Ubuntu is a specific one to discuss here
because it is a case study on the software vehicle that today is
the most likely replacement for Windows and the Mac.

"While the Linux community has benefited greatly from Ubuntu's
investments and focus on the deficiencies of Debian, it is not
clear why Shuttleworth needed to fork Debian to improve Debian in
the first place. Hiring volunteers to work full-time is a good way
to speed up progress, but they could have done their work inside of
Debian if Mark had told them to. In addition, there is an argument
to be made that both Ubuntu and Debian are hurt by the split.

"It is widely accepted in the free software community that
Ubuntu and Debian have a special relationship. Ubuntu's website
says that Debian is "the rock" that Ubuntu is built upon. Given
that Debian is installed on millions of machines, has been around
for 15 years, and has 1,000 developers, this analogy is apt."